Prologue

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"Hindi ba free sina Celeste? Avery? Ako talaga?" Reklamo ko habang naglalakad kami ni Lulu patungo sa registration ng Art Exhibit.

"Busy sila. Huwag ka na ngang magreklamo d'yan!"

Sinamaan ako ng tingin ni Lulu. I sighed and followed her through the hallway. Nang makarating kami sa loob, may bumati sa aming babae.

"Miss Samaniego? Good morning."

"Hi! Good morning! Uhm, I hope you don't mind. I brought a friend with me."

She briefly glanced at me and smiled. "It's okay. This way, please."

The art exhibit was bigger than I expected. Marami ng tao ang palakad-lakad sa loob. I snatched a wine glass from a waiter carrying a tray of champagne and smiled at him.

Sumunod ako kay Luanne habang sinisimsim ang champagne. Kunwari ay may alam ako sa arts.

"This one will be available in the auction later on. We've already received some offers but of course, for formality, we will start with the minimum price..."

Hindi ko maintindihan ang pinag-uusapan nina Lulu at nung babae. But the paintings are good... real good. Even for someone who had no eye for art like me, I could tell it was good.

"Para san nga ulit 'to?" Bulong ko sa kaibigan.

"I'm redecorating my house so I need some paintings." Lulu answered, not taking her eyes off her prized item.

I snorted. "Alam mo bang milyones ang mga painting dito? Hindi ba pwedeng mag-order ka nalang sa Shopee?"

Sinamaan ako ng tingin ni Lulu kaya kaagad akong umatras.

Mukhang naiirita na ata sa akin ang kaibigan kaya nagpakalayo-layo na muna ako. Being surrounded with so much art reminds me of her...

I sipped on my champagne again and stared at the big painting in front of me. Simple lang naman ang painting. A big vase with flowers. Some petals are falling on the table. It is ready to wilt.

Alam kong wala akong karapatan para magsabi ng mga preferences ko sa art dahil wala naman akong alam pero kung papipiliin ako... mas gusto ko ng ganito. Ayoko sa mga abstract na kailangan pang gamitin ang utak ko para lang magkaroon ng interpretation.

Ito, simple. Diretso. Ang angas ng details. It looks so mundane and peaceful.

"You like it?"

"Sinasabi ko sa'yo, huwag mo akong bentahan ng painting dahil hindi ko afford..." the words died in my mouth as soon as I turned and saw Nadia, standing next to me.

She had a glass of champagne in her hand, wearing a silk backless black dress that flowed through her body elegantly.

"Ah, ikaw lang pala..."

Nadia gave me one of her sunlit smiles and tilted her head, studying my face.

"Long time no see?"

"Long time no see." Tumikhim ako, pinapakiramdaman siya.

I guess this time, she won't run away from me because she's wearing heels. Ilang beses na ba akong nilayasan at tinakasan ng babaeng ito?

But then again... we are in an art exhibit. Nadia is a painter. Nagpabaling-baling ang tingin ko sa maganda niyang mukha at sa magandang painting.

My eyes widened.

"Exhibit mo ba 'to?!"

Her laugh cut me off. She shook her head. "I'll accept that as a compliment... pero hindi pa ako kasing-galing ng painter na ito. I'm just the organizer of the event."

Sailing through Sunlit Waters (Elyu Series #3)Tahanan ng mga kuwento. Tumuklas ngayon